Wednesday

After waking to the news of Kennedy’s death, people went about their daily routines, but thoughts of Kennedy, his life, his work and his inspiration went with them.

Jacqueline Mills, 9, was just a day old when Sen. Edward M. Kennedy visited with her and her parents at Good Samaritan Medical Center.

“He came to Good Samaritan to talk about health care,” recalled her mother, Karen Mills, 42, of Easton.

She remembered how Kennedy pronounced her baby’s name, “Jacqleen,” the same pronunciation as his late sister-in-law, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

“He was a very special person,” Mills said Friday, taking time from a back-to-school shopping trip at Best Buy in Brockton to talk about the senator. He died late Tuesday night in Hyannis Port after a battle with brain cancer.

“I knew he was sick, but his death was still a shock,” she said.

Kennedy’s passing brought back memories of him and his brothers, the late President John Fitzgerald Kennedy and presidential candidate Robert Francis Kennedy.

“We were born the same year, 1932,” said Gerry Gottschalk of Brockton.

“I admired him very much,” said Gottschalk. “Who cannot like him?”

After waking to the news of Kennedy’s death, people went about their daily routines, but thoughts of Kennedy, his life, his work and his inspiration went with them.

In true spirit of the helping the less fortunate, which the Kennedys will long be remembered for, Gottschalk was driving a disabled woman home from the Brockton senior center.

“He was a good man and helped a lot of people,” said Barbara Murphy, 76, of Brockton, who also visited the senior center on Wednesday.

On the other side of the city, at Heights Crossing, an assisted living center on Christy’s Drive, folks were gathered around the television.

“It’s been full in there all day,” said Kathy Hermanson, assistant executive director at Heights Crossing. “They like to stay on top of the news.”

Charlie Giannaros, 88, of Heights Crossing, was among those watching. “He was a great politician,” Giannaros said.

Max Shatz, 80, of Heights Crossing said Kennedy’s passing was “very sad — all these years of service.”

“He reminds you of JFK or his brother Bobby,” said David Lopez, 23, who works at Westgate Mall.

Kennedy was inspirational to African-Americans growing up in the South, said Emerald Scott, 27, an employee at Westgate Mall.

“He pushed the civil rights movement and made me feel like more of an American,” said Scott.

A Haitian immigrant who chose a career in nursing, Laurente Mont-Louis, 39 of Stoughton, remembered Kennedy as a champion for the less fortunate.

“It was heartbreaking,” she said of waking up to news of his death.

Dorothy Lord, 61, of Randolph, was volunteering at the gift shop at the Chapel of Our Savior on Westgate Drive. “He was a very kind man and did outstanding things for people an society,” she said.

“He did wonderful things for Massachusetts and his family, ” added Mary Bulman, 59, of Randolph. “He took care of all the kids after Bobby and Jack were assassinated. He was a father to them all.”

Elaine Allegrini can be reached at eallegrini@enterprisenews.com.

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